How To Identify Which Improvements Will Grow Your Business
Eben Pagan explores Deming's two pillars of business success: constancy of purpose and never-ending improvement. He explains how to identify what core elements should never change versus what should constantly improve, using Southwest Airlines as a key example.
Teachings 3
Successful businesses require two paradoxical pillars: constancy of purpose for core strategic elements and never-ending improvement for operational efficiency
Based on Deming's business philosophy, exemplified by Southwest Airlines maintaining low-cost airfare strategy while continuously improving customer experience
Without clear identification of what should remain constant versus what should improve, team members will change things that shouldn't change and keep static what should evolve
Eben explains that unclear boundaries lead to staff making incorrect decisions about business modifications
Southwest Airlines exemplifies proper constancy of purpose by never changing their low-cost strategy while continuously improving the customer experience within that framework
Southwest maintains standardized fleet and cemented low-cost strategy while constantly enhancing customer experience during low-cost travel
Perspectives 1
Humans are complex systems that don't respond logically, making it futile to plan exactly how others will react to your communications
Eben describes the common experience of planning conversations that never go as expected when the other person doesn't behave like a predictable machine
Quotable Moments 2
“one thing is constant and one thing is changing and they're like the two ends of you know a parthenon that hold up the superstructure”
— Eben Pagan“stop planning how other people are going to respond to what you say logically they're complex systems”
— Eben Pagan
How to implement constancy of purpose and never-ending improvement
Framework for identifying what core elements to keep constant while continuously improving operations
- 1
Identify core strategic elements
Determine the fundamental aspects of your business strategy that should never change, like Southwest's low-cost focus
- 2
Define improvement areas
Identify operational and experiential elements that should be continuously enhanced within your constant framework
- 3
Communicate boundaries clearly
Ensure team members understand what should remain constant versus what should be continuously improved
- 4
Monitor and maintain balance
Regularly assess that core strategy remains unchanged while operations continue evolving
Questions Answered
What are Deming's two pillars of business success
“he talked about a concept that he called constancy of purpose and then he talked about another concept that he called never-ending improvement”
— Eben Pagan
Constancy of purpose (keeping core strategic elements unchanged) and never-ending improvement (continuously enhancing operational efficiency and execution).
How does Southwest Airlines apply constancy of purpose
“southwest airlines they're probably going to always stick with low-cost airfare right low-cost that's it they've standardized their fleet of planes their strategy is cemented but they're probably always going to improve the experience that the customer has”
— Eben Pagan▶ 1:33
They maintain their core low-cost airfare strategy and standardized fleet while continuously improving the customer experience within that framework.
Why is it important to identify what should and shouldn't change in business
“if you don't know what they are and you don't talk about them guess what your stars are going to grab stuff and move it around they're going to change things you didn't want change they're going to keep things the same you didn't want to keep the same”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:04
Without clear boundaries, team members will change strategic elements that should remain constant and keep operational aspects static that should be improving.
Why don't humans respond logically in conversations
“humans as i mentioned are also systems we are very complex systems and we do not respond logically”
— Eben Pagan▶ 2:14
Humans are complex systems, not predictable machines, making it impossible to plan exactly how they'll respond to your communications.
Summary
The Paradoxical Pillars of Business Success
Eben introduces Deming's framework of constancy of purpose and never-ending improvement as two essential but seemingly contradictory elements. These concepts work together like architectural supports, with one element remaining constant while the other continuously evolves.
Southwest Airlines as a Case Study
Southwest Airlines demonstrates perfect execution of this framework by maintaining their core low-cost strategy and standardized fleet while continuously improving customer experience. This shows how businesses can innovate within clearly defined strategic boundaries.
The Human Element and Logical Fallacies
Eben shifts to discussing human nature, explaining that people are complex systems rather than logical machines. This insight helps business leaders understand why planned interactions often don't unfold as expected and why adaptability is crucial.
Counterpoint
Claim: “You can plan logical conversations by predicting how others will respond to what you say”
Reframe: Humans are complex systems that don't respond logically, so planning exact responses is futile
Eben describes the universal experience of planning conversations that never work out as expected because people don't behave like predictable machines
Key Points 4
Successful businesses require two paradoxical pillars: constancy of purpose for core strategic elements and never-ending improvement for operational efficiency
▶ 0:32Without clear identification of what should remain constant versus what should improve, team members will change things that shouldn't change and keep static what should evolve
▶ 1:03Humans are complex systems that don't respond logically, making it futile to plan exactly how others will react to your communications
▶ 2:34Southwest Airlines exemplifies proper constancy of purpose by never changing their low-cost strategy while continuously improving the customer experience within that framework
▶ 1:33Topics
Business Frameworks
Common Mistakes